With the New Year here, we’re all looking to eat a bit healthier and while that means different things for different people, there is one thing we can all agree on and that’s that life is too short to be eating bad food. You don’t have to be a 5-star chef to make dinner at home and you definitely don’t need fancy ingredients or recipes to make something healthy and delicious. And I’m not saying healthy like no carbs and no fats and only veggies, but rather, healthy like I’m going to make more home cooked meals and order less. That’s definitely “healthier” than take out. This Sheet Pan Chicken with Lemon Olives and Pesto Orzo is an (almost) one pan wonder. Full disclosure, I do like to cook the orzo in a separate pot because I find that oven cooked orzo requires a lot of liquid and tends to get mushy fast. So while this isn’t a true one sheet pan supper, it’s almost there. Once thing is for sure, you’re going to love this one.
Drizzle a baking sheet with 2 tablespoons olive oil and spread out slightly. Arrange the red onion slices, lemon wedges and chicken thighs in a single layer. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
**Note: I prefer chicken thighs but you can also do a mix of legs and thighs or even breasts. Just note that breasts (whether bone-in or boneless) will cook at different times.**
Pour in the wine or stock and roast in the oven until the chicken is golden, crispy and cooked through, about 40 to 45 minutes.
**Tip: If you don’t want to use wine, you can use stock instead. You just need some kind of liquid so that a) it doesn’t dry out and b) also so that it doesn’t burn at the bottom. Also for flavor.**
Remove from the oven and carefully transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the cooked orzo to the baking sheet (along with the roasted onions and lemon) and add the olives and pesto. Give it all a toss to evenly combine. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
**Note: To cook the orzo, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season liberally with salt and add the orzo. Cook according to package directions. Drain well.**
Spread out to an even layer and top with the chicken. Return to the oven and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes to warm everything up. Garnish with parsley and basil and serve immediately.
If you do use wine to cook the chicken, pick something that you’d like to drink with this dish because it’s a dish that would go great with wine. I like a dry white, like pinot grigio or savignon blanc.
When it comes to pesto, you can totally make your own (if you have the time and patience) but I wanted this recipe to be quick and easy for weeknight so I suggest using store-bought. The only tip I’ll give you is to instead of using the jarred stuff from the aisles, get the refrigerated pesto in a tub from the fresh pasta section. It’s so much better than the jarred.
If you’re on the lookout for something easy and delicious, then I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. It’s fun, versatile and completely delicious. Let me know what you think below and as always, thank you all so much for reading, following along and making my recipes. I do it all for you!
Sheet Pan Chicken with Lemon, Olives and Pesto Orzo
Equipment
- Sheet Pan
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 small red onion sliced
- 1 medium lemon cut into wedges
- 4-6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and coarse black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup white wine or chicken stock
- 8 ounces orzo
- 8 ounces castelvetrano olives drained and torn in half
- 4 ounces store-bought pesto preferably the refrigerated kind
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F°.
- Drizzle a baking sheet with 2 tablespoons olive oil and spread out slightly. Arrange the red onion slices, lemon wedges and chicken thighs in a single layer. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Pour in the wine or stock and roast in the oven until the chicken is golden, crispy and cooked through, about 40 to 45 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season liberally with salt and add the orzo. Cook according to package directions. Drain well.
- Remove from the oven and carefully transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the cooked orzo to the baking sheet (along with the roasted onions and lemon) and add the olives and pesto. Give it all a toss to evenly combine. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Spread out to an even layer and top with the chicken. Return to the oven and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes to warm everything up. Garnish with parsley and basil and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Saved this for my next trip to the store. I don’t always have orzo but I do always have pesto. Love it and lemons. yum yum yum
yummy dish! Great idea for a sheet pan too, and love these flavors too, especially lemon and pesto orzo, thank you!